TV personality Jack Osbourne spent his later teen years growing up in front of the camera with heavy metal rocker dad Ozzy Osbourne, no-nonsense, savvy mom Sharon Osbourne, and sister Kelly Osbourne in his family’s MTV reality series The Osbournes. These days, now all grown up, happily married, and the father of two, Osbourne’s enjoying family time off and on camera.

Time flies when you’re watching television. One minute you’re tuning in to that typical parent-teenager friction, and the next minute they’re older, a little wiser (if you ignore things like that Wild West “shoot out” Jack and Ozzy staged to settle their differences in Episode 3),* and traveling around the world together like intermittently bickering BFFs.

*FYI: Don’t worry, it’s reality television. Both Osbourne men are alive and well and still bonding in later episodes and in real life.

A history-driven reality show was the perfect fit for Jack and Ozzy Osbourne, who share a strong love of history.

“It was honestly the only subject at school that I was any good at,” says the younger Osbourne. “History, to me, was always really exciting and compelling. And it was the one subject that me and my dad actually could connect with. I wasn’t musical, but my dad’s hobby has always been history…So you know, it was kind of our thing.”

History aside, both father and son recognized that the true value of this opportunity would likely extend beyond cool road trips. “That’s probably the reason both of us even agreed to do the show to begin with—because we saw it as an opportunity to spend time together that we just wouldn’t normally get,” Osbourne says. “You know, I’m 31 and he’s just turned 68, so it’s like, ‘When do you ever get to go do to that with your father at this stage in the game?’”

Osbourne admits that the fun often exceeds even that captured on camera. Now crossing their fingers and hoping for a second season, the father-son team are ready to sign on again. I have a very strong suspicion that the unique bonding that happened during Season 1 will continue with or without another season.

While many believe that living in the limelight means a carefree existence, Jack Osbourne’s personal journey has involved serious health challenges including his 2012 multiple sclerosis diagnosis—something he has strived to tackle with knowledge and education, and channeled into a mission to help educate others about a disease that is far from predictable. Living with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), is something that Osbourne doesn’t hesitate to discuss, but he is also frank about the initial panic he experienced—especially when he couldn’t put his hands on much-needed information.

Osbourne’s decision to publicly share his diagnosis came upon recognizing the need for more awareness—to remind the public that MS affects young adults, and that its unique presentations across patients makes for a complicated diagnostic and treatment path. He also wanted to share positive treatment and quality of life advances that continue to grow with new scientific developments.

Jack Osbourne (photo courtesy of Osbourne Media)

“There’s a lot of changing in the [medical] landscape, and that was another thing that I wanted to get out in front of…just because I have this disease, do not define me by, you know, by some of those unfortunate worst-case scenarios,” explains Osbourne, whose new dad-driven gear and apparel company Tier 1 Dad draws from his busy family life and creative career goals.

Osbourne’s partnership with Teva Pharmaceuticals has led to the You Don’t Know Jack About MS campaign—an initiative that offers information, including a blog and online documentary series (webisodes with Jack Osbourne and guests that include experts and patients), to provide insights and resources for those who are newly diagnosed or living with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. The bottom line? Reminding patients that they are the driving force in their health care journey with MS, not the other way around.

These days, when he’s approached in the airport by strangers, it’s often not for autographs, but for “thank-yous” from those facing MS who have come to know him as a health care advocate and person with MS who is proving life isn’t defined by your toughest challenge. “It always feels nice to get that kind of affirmation,” says Osbourne. He may not be musical, but when it comes to taking the stage for an important cause, Jack Osbourne is a real rock star.